


A Series of Reveals

by m_love24



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Identity Reveal, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:20:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27371830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/m_love24/pseuds/m_love24
Summary: Everyone has their reveal stories, so I'm taking a shot at some of my own. However, I'm taking a slight twist as to how my chapters are structured.I am unsure of how many chapters there will be at this point, but I at least have 5 pieces in progress. Most chapters will be for teen & up audiences (since some references to alcohol use or death will be in future chapters) just to be on the safe side. There will be warnings at the beginning of the chapters that surpass the "teen" rating, so please read the notes at the beginning of each chapter. I have nothing but love for this show, so I don't want any salt in my comments. Thank you!Tags and characters will be updated/added as more chapters post.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	A Series of Reveals

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter has no angst or triggering scenes.

Fridays were Adrien’s second favorite day of the week because, after school and a short fencing lesson, he was sometimes allowed to meet with his friends.

But this Friday was not one of those times.

So Adrien instead read Alya’s latest post on the Ladyblog, practiced piano, and tried to top his high score on Ultima Mecha Strike (which would still fall fifty thousand short of Marinette’s). He even gave Plagg the extra controller to try and challenge himself a bit more, but his Kwami only complained that he couldn’t reach both joysticks.

Evening came and Adrien laid in his bed, flipping between texting Nino and reviewing past Chinese lessons. Nino would usually take Alya out on Fridays, be it a movie or the park. However, like Adrien, he was stuck at home having to watch his brother. With the light fading fast into the night, Nino went to bed with Chris early, leaving Adrien to stare at his ceiling.

_ I f my ceilings were lower,  _ he wondered,  _ would I feel more constricted or would it feel like a real home? _

Adrien’s head flopped to his left where Plagg was already curled up asleep on the pillow. Adrien sighed. It wasn’t too early for bed but he wasn’t tired yet. He’d hoped to hold a conversation with someone until his eyes grew heavy – but who to text? Maybe Luka had practice scheduled soon for Kitty Section; he was always up late.

Luckily, he didn’t have to try and figure it out as his phone buzzed in his hand. He held the screen above his face and read the banner.

_ Alya:1 video _

Curious, he swiped the message, pulling open a group chat where Alya’s face held frozen behind a play button. Adrien tapped it and ensured the volume wouldn’t wake Plagg.

“Hey, girls! I’m happy to announce that after a unanimous vote from you all in my last message, Marinette and I went shopping and got something super cute for her to wear for girls’ night! Ready, girl? Strike a pose,” she sang.

The moment the camera flipped, Adrien knew the video wasn’t supposed to be sent to him. Marinette sat on her knees with her wrists pressed together under her chin, hands framing her face. She grinned brightly and her eyes were squeezed shut. He’d run into Marinette in her pajamas before but these were  _ not  _ those pajamas. Instead, Marinette wore light grey shorts with black polka dots and pink lace around the bottom. Black lace adorned her bralette and a pink knit sweater hung open.

_ What happens at girls’ night?  _ He pondered, dismissing the intrusive thought before it could settle.

“So what do you think?” Alya asked her friends. “Marinette’s a total hottie, right?”

“Alya!” she protested in return.

Overall, the colors she wore reminded him of her time as Multimouse – as short lived as it had been. Maybe he could convince Ladybug to give her the miraculous again. Marinette seemed to be following Ladybug’s plan, but he wouldn’t be surprised if she came up with part of it herself. Marinette was resourceful like that.

Adrien caught himself staring at his friend - her wide eyes, the sweater that had dropped off her shoulder, and the full line of her collarbone which normally only peaked from behind her blazer.. He quickly scrolled away from the video to read the previous messages – he didn’t remember seeing any texts from Alya. In fact, the last few messages read backwards as such.

_ Marinette: Haha thanks! _

_ Adrien: It WAS fun and I’m glad I could help! Especially with Marinette’s awesome designs. _

_ Juleka: Thanks again for doing this with me. It was fun. _

_ Rose: So excited to see how they turned out! _

_ Alya: These. Pictures. Are. Awesome! Almost done editing them. Great job today, all! _

He realized Alya had sent the video to the wrong group chat and was about to correct her when he began receiving responses from the rest of the girls.

_ Juleka: Finally. _

_ Mylene: You always look so good in polka dots! _

_ Alix: Adrien doesn’t know what he’s missing. _

_ Rose: The sweater is super cute! But what was that in the background? _

Over and over Adrien read Alix’s message. He was fairly certain she hadn’t called him out to try and usher a response from him ... No. No, they didn’t realize he was in the chat. If he responded now, he would definitely embarrass Marinette. He’d just pretend he never saw the video – it would be simple enough.

Then another text came through.

_ Alya: Marinette found a kitten! _

_ Rose: I want to see! _

_ Alya: 1 video _

Well ... Adrien didn’t see anything wrong about watching a video of the kitten. He glanced over to Plagg first before clicking play – he was still asleep. Alya’s voice came through the speaker once more.

“Alright, Marinette, we have the consensus. The girls totally agree that you look amazing and Adrien’s a fool for not asking you out yet.” Marinette’s cheeks visibly reddened and she delicately placed her hands over them in an effort to hide it. Adrien paused the video, studying how Marinette bit her lip in the slightest manner while refusing to look toward the camera as though she were stuck in a daydream.

Did Marinette like him? She had called him her “friend” many times over and he always took it at face value. After all, his father was always forward when he was displeased with Adrien and, sometimes, when he was satisfied with Adrien’s work. Was everyone like that though? He still had a lot to learn about how people behaved in the real world, but Marinette’s reaction reminded him of the lovesick girls from anime. This observation, along with Alix’s comment, forced him to consider the possibility but he wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

Marinette was an amazing girl and a very good friend. When she confessed her love for Chat Noir, it hurt him to tell her he didn’t feel the same. It would be even harder to do so as Adrien. But he had already mentioned the girl he was in love with to Marinette and she didn’t say anything about it. She just . . .

_ She just completely shut herself off from him. _ But she had so easily confessed her love to Chat Noir, so she would’ve done the same for him, right?

He groaned in frustration as his thoughts spun in an endless cycle. Girls were so confusing. Couldn’t they just say what they meant? Trying to distract himself, Adrien continued the video.

“Also, Rose wants to see the kitten.”

“Oh!” Marinette dropped her hands. “Sorry! He crawled under the chaise. Let me grab him – he’s quite the explorer!”

Heat rushed to Adrien’s face while Marinette reached for the kitten, as he was slow to look away. Her face was pressed to the floor to look under the chair, leaving her backside to rise into the air. Adrien tore his eyes from the screen to provide her with her privacy. He didn’t want to look at her in a perverse way; people were worth so much more than their appearances. He respected her privacy enough to glance away from the screen until he heard the tiniest of mewls.

In the palms of her hands, Marinette cupped a ball of black fuzz over her heart. Tiny paws stretched upward and grazed her collarbone as it tried to pull itself over her shoulder. Her laugh resonated like bells as its fur tickled her skin. The corners of Adrien’s mouth quirked upward as Marinette turned her head to smile down at the kitten. The kitten copied her movements as it curiously sniffed her jaw and jerked backward when its nose made contact. 

“I’m closer than you thought, huh?” Marinette chuckled before holding the kitten in place and covering it with kisses on its face and ears.

A strange feeling twisted in Adrien’s stomach. His heart momentarily sped up. Was it _…_ jealousy? Of course, there was no reason to be jealous over a kitten - it’d be a different story if it was Luka.

_ Wait … Am I jealous of Luka? There’s no reason to be. Marinette’s just a … she’s just a …  _ He couldn’t finish his thought; he couldn’t deny that Marinette had something about her. Something  _ special.  _ If Ladybug hadn’t been a part of his life, well, he definitely held Marinette in the highest regard.

Maneuvering the kitten into the crook of her right arm, Marinette made a claw out of her hand and prepared to attack. Her victim’s bright green eyes widened as she came down over its stomach and wiggled her fingers. It’s mouth hung open as it squirmed under her with paws flailing. She pulled her hand back before returning to the kitten and it was much more prepared – this time grabbing her hand with its claws and lightly biting into her finger. 

“You remind me of someone, chaton.”

“Totally!” Alya agreed. “He kind of looks like Chat Noir!”

“You think?”

“For sure! Why don’t we name him after him?”

“I thought you told me we  _ shouldn’t  _ name him because I’d just want to keep him,” Marinette frowned. Then a small smile took its place as she tapped the kitten’s nose with her index. “Besides, there’s only one Chat Noir.”

“Think about it! The euthanasia rate for black cats is higher than any other breed. If we name him after a superhero, maybe people will see them in a different light! He might be more likely to be adopted!”

“You have a point, Alya,” she agreed, scratching the kitten under its chin. It closed its eyes in bliss. “But I think Plagg would be a cuter name.”

“Plagg?” Alya mocked.

_ Plagg?  _ Adrien thought in a panic.

“What is that even supposed to mean?” Alya joked. Marinette just shrugged. The video abruptly flipped back to the burgundy-haired girl as she smirked in the camera. “Okay, girls. Which name is going to get him adopted? Bets are on me,” she gloated.

“No way,” challenged Marinette. The video ended with Alya laughing.

Messages from the girls began to pour in, but Adrien gently set his phone off to the side while staring at his vast ceiling.

“Plagg” he asked. The Kwami did not respond. Adrien rolled over and poked the cat’s side, speaking louder. “Plagg!”

“What?” he whined. “What is so important you’re interrupting my sleep?”

“It’s about Marinette,” he explained and the kwami’s ear twitched.

“Yeah, what about her?”

“When she was Multimouse, did you tell her your name?”

“What kind of question is that?” he grumbled.

“Please, it’s important.” 

“No,” he huffed. “I never told her. Can I sleep now?”

“So there’s no reason for Marinette to know your name?” he tried confirming. Plagg was silent. “Plagg?” The Kwami must have fallen back to sleep, leaving Adrien with his racing thoughts about whether Marinette could be the love of his life or if everything just happened to be an insane coincidence. Was there a way he could drop hints at school to see how she reacted? How would he even be able to bring up the topic without mentioning the video?

_ “Hey, Marinette, do you like cats?”  _ he’d ask. He’d assume she’d say “yes” and then what?  _ “Cool. Me too. Say, if you happened to find a black cat, what would you name him?” _

There was no way that would go over well. Adrien sighed and grabbed for his phone again.

_ Alix: Chat Noir is straight to the point. _

_ Juleka: I like Plag. Sounds badass. _

_ Rose: He’s soo CUTE! Can I have him? PLEASE?  _

_ Alya: Rose, are you sure? Are you even allowed a pet? _

_ Rose: I’ll ask! This way, we don’t have to worry about whether he’ll be adopted or not! Plus, Plag is such a cute name! _

_ Marinette: 1 video _

_ Marinette: It has 2 “g’s”. Plagg. _

_ There’s no way she knows how to spell it,  _ Adrien thought. He pressed play on the new video, heart racing. The clip was short, possibly ten seconds long. The kitten was playing with a strip of fabric that hung from Marinette’s desk, paws raised and toes splayed as it tried pouncing. It lost its balance and tumbled to its side. Marinette giggled. “Silly kitty.”

That was the moment Adrien’s breath finally caught. He was speaking with Ladybug on Marinette’s balcony – on  _ her  _ balcony – after the whole debacle with Troublemaker. He told her she was the girl of his dreams and Ladybug had responded with those exact words – that exact tone. It was the same balcony where Marinette professed her love for Chat Noir because he found her right after Ladybug had vanished. The same balcony where they shared their troubles and heartbreak after Ladybug didn’t show for dinner because Marinette must have been waiting for Adrien to get ice cream.

“ _ There’s a boy I …” _

_Me_ _,_ he realized.

Adrien scoffed at his stupidity as his heart continued to race at the revelation. He played the most recent video again.

“Silly kitty,” Adrien mouthed as Marinette’s video repeated. He smiled and laughed silently, playing the footage over.

His smile fell.

He had promised they would not reveal their identities. He thought of acting as though he never figured it out but he couldn’t do that – if he acted like nothing changed, then he wouldn’t be thinking of asking Marinette to be his girlfriend. But he  _ was  _ thinking of asking her because now he knew for  _ certain  _ that she was the girl he loved. 

That wasn’t fair to Marinette, though – for him to know that he finally got the girl he pined for while she was unaware that she was dating the boy she refused the advances of so many times. Adrien couldn’t do that –she needed to know. Marinette deserved to know. 

All he could do was hope that Marinette would understand his decision. 

_ And hopefully say “yes”, _ he thought.

With the adrenaline running through his body, Adrien knew he wasn’t going to be able to sleep. He cycled through the videos again and again until he fell asleep to Marinette’s soft giggles and the two words that opened his eyes.

Monday morning, Adrien’s heart hammered against his ribs as he got ready for school exceptionally early. If Nathalie noticed the way he inhaled his breakfast, she didn’t say anything. Being the first person seated in class gave him time to focus on keeping his breathing steady and preparing for the moment  _ she  _ would walk through the door.

He was as ready as he could be (which, admittedly, was not at all) and tried to provide himself with a distraction. A conversation with Nino began to develop shortly after his arrival, but Adrien grew anxious as each second passed. Each word spoken by his friend felt like it had travelled through molasses before reaching Adrien’s ears.

In fact, his Nino’s words completely faded away as Marinette passed through the threshold with Alya. He felt a smile on his face while his gaze followed Marinette as she passed the front of his desk.

“Good morning, Marinette,” he blurted. She jolted slightly at the sound of his voice, but returned his smile with a gleam in her ocean eyes.

_ She’s amazing,  _ he thought.

“Oh! Um, mood gorning, Adrien!”

His cheeks flushed when she said his name – it felt like he was hearing it for the first time. He couldn’t look away from her and he didn’t want to try. He noticed that her cheeks began to match his own before Alya’s voice cut through their trances.

“Marinette, are you coming or not?”

“Yeah,” she responded, never looking away from him. “Yeah, I’m coming.”

And as she began up the aisle, Marinette’s foot caught the stair. She face-planted into the ground. The class laughed and a few voices called out to ask if she was okay. Adrien started toward her, but she had already jumped to her feet once more.

“I’m okay!” she assured her friends. Adrien looked to the desk to hide his own chuckle behind his fist.

_ She’s incredible. _

“It’s not a normal day for Marinette unless she embarrasses herself,” she muttered to her seat-mate.

“Or until you get flustered around Adrien,” Alya whispered. “So I guess you’re two-for-two.”

“Shush! He might hear you!” she responded. Adrien’s smile stretched wider across his face as he looked forward into a daydream. He was going to tell her after class and then they could be together. A wave of panic washed over him as he realized how soon the confession would be. He was certain he’d be sick.

_ Would _ _ they be together? _

“Uh, earth to Adrien,” Nino called, half-singing.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“You totally cut me off after asking me how my weekend was. Everything okay?” He glanced back to where Marinette and Alya spoke in hushed voices.

“Yeah. Yeah, sorry. I’m fine.”

“You sure? You look like you’re gonna be sick.”

_ You have no idea.  _ Marinette never wanted him to know her secret; she never wanted him to confess his own. But it wouldn’t be fair to keep the discovery to himself. Balance needed to be kept. 

“Yeah, I promise it’s all good,” Adrien reassured. Nino shrugged and continued explaining about how surprising it was that Chris had actually listened to him while their mom was gone. But Nino’s voice was drowned out once again as Adrien’s heartbeat grew louder in his ears. Never in his life had he felt something so strongly. He was generally a go-with-the-flow kind of guy who let those he loved make decisions in his best interest (falling in love with Ladybug was not under his control either), but he had never made such an important decision on his own. What if it went wrong?

The bell ripped him from his thoughts. Class was already over? He leaned toward Nino.

“Hey, can I borrow your notes? I completely spaced out.”

“Uhhh, sorry dude. I don’t really take any.”

“I’m gonna fail,” Adrien whispered to himself.

“First time for everything. Though, you  _ could  _ just ask Marinette if you can borrow hers.”

“W-what? Oh! Y-yeah,” he laughed. “I’ll just ask her. I’ll just ask Marinette – no problem at all.”

“Dude, you’re seriously freaking me out.”

“Everything’s fine, Nino,” he said, more to convince himself. Voices were heard from behind him once again.

“Marinette!” Rose’s high voice rang as she rushed down the center aisle. “I’m allowed to keep Plagg! Can I come get him after school?”

_ This is it _ , Adrien thought.  _ I have a conversation starter.  _ He drastically slowed down packing his bags.

“You can come get him now, if you want! I have to run home for lunch anyway.”

“Oh! That’s okay! I wouldn’t make it back to class in time.”

“No problem! I’m sure he’s giving my maman some trouble as we speak,” she laughed and her voice chimed like bells. “I should probably get going.”

“I’ll see you in free period?”

“Of course!” Marinette agreed. Nino spoke up next to Adrien, distracting his friend from the conversation behind him.

“Buddy? You comin’?” He had already stood, bag slung over his shoulder and phone out to select the first song he’d enjoy on their break. He shifted his weight as he watched Adrien rearrange his bag.

“You know what? Go ahead without me,” he urged. “I forgot I have to do something.”

At this, Marinette perked her head up. After Alya side-eyed her friend and the boy in front of them, she slid out of her seat to stand next to Nino.

“Well, hello boyfriend,” she sang. “Looks like we have a lunch date.”

“Uh … we do?”

“Of course!”

“I don’t remember making plans.”

“Still as clueless as ever,” she sighed, grabbing his hand. “Let’s go.”

Adrien decided he’d have to thank Alya later but for the moment, he turned his attention to Marinette who began packing her bag much quicker than she had been originally. He was going to wait for her to acknowledge him, but she avoided eye contact for an impressive amount of time.

“Marinette,” he called as she zipped her bag shut. A squeak escaped her mouth.

“Y-yes?”

“Can I talk to you for a moment? It’s, uh… it’s kind of important.”

She gulped down her nerves before answering.

“Sure, Adrien.” She tried her most convincing smile. He placed a hand on her shoulder, studying her face as she gaped at the contact.

“Is everything okay?” Though his voice was laced with concern, Marinette began giggling wildly. As she began to catch her breath, she released a sigh that made Adrien’s heart slam itself against the inside of his chest.

“Yeah.” 

_ Jesus. _ The look she gave Adrien sent him reeling as she peered at him through her lashes. He let his arm drop back to his side.

“Good! I, uh … heard you talking to Rose. Did you get a pet?”

“Yeah! Well, kind of. I found a kitten and Rose said she could take him. He’s so cute and tiny.” A small complaint could be heard from Adrien’s collar. He brought his hand up and pressed it down over the sound, pretending to stretch his neck.

_ Be quiet. _

“How’d you come up with his name?”

“Plagg?” Panic seemed to strike her as she looked for a convincing answer. She didn’t have one. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just creative.”

Why was it so hard to talk to her  _ now?  _ He never had an issue with Ladybug  _ or  _ Marinette before. He chuckled. “I’m kind of messing this up. Have you tried giving him camembert?”

“No,” she shook her head in thought. “Do cats generally like stinky cheeses?”

“Mine does.”

“ _ You _ have a  _ cat _ ?”

“Yeah, he’s really small and he’s _also_ named Plagg.”

“I don’t understand, why would  _ you  _ have -” she began to stare wide-eyed from his hair to his shoulders to his hand.

“What?” she squeaked.

“Sorry, it didn’t seem right to keep it from you.”

No response from the girl in front of him. Instead, her eyes glazed as she lost herself in her thoughts, hyper-fixated on a point over Adrien’s shoulder, face burning red. She focused on him once again.

“Hang on,” she spoke slowly. “How did you figure it out?”

Adrien had been smiling at her with a familiar gaze - one that he normally reserved for Ladybug. His warm smile turned into something a bit more mischievous. He gave his answer.

“Rose was right; your pink sweater is super cute.” He began to leave the classroom before she could dissect his words. Right before the door shut, she shrieked once more.

_ “What?” _

**Author's Note:**

> Well, there's the first idea I could spit onto paper. I hope it's good enough to satisfy you all! Maybe I'll edit it in the future, but I wanted to give you all a little something since we're starved for content. Once again, I wholeheartedly love Miraculous and its characters, so please do not put salt in the comments. You're all awesome! Thanks for reading!


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